Yazen (Ponith) Read online

  Yazen

  By:

  Nicole Sloan

  “First book

  in the

  Ponith series”

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Nicole Sloan.

  Published by Nicole Sloan

  Copyright 2014 by Nicole Sloan

  Edited by Kerrie McLoughlin

  Cover Designed by Ramon Puasa Jr.

  To my loving fiancé, Daniel Gotje,

  And my family,

  For all of their love and support.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Acknowledgements

  Other Books by Nicole Sloan

  Chapter One

  Today’s a hot day in Ketchikan, Alaska. We rarely get days like this, so when we do, the whole city spends it outside. The sun feels good on my skin and there’s a nice cool breeze to keep me from sweating as I pedal my bike uphill to my friend Jenn’s house. She lives two blocks away from me.

  My name is Zac and I can’t believe I’m almost a sophomore in high school. I live here in the southern part of Alaska with my grandpa. I’m about as ordinary as you could imagine, or at least I like to think of myself that way.

  I see a few people gathering their fishing poles, tackle boxes, coolers, and canoes, while others are watering plants in their yards, soaking in the heat from the sun. I’m glad that everyone’s enjoying the nice weather while it lasts.

  As I pull into Jenn’s driveway, I park my bike next to their lamp post. Her three-story house is always very regal looking compared to the houses surrounding hers. I climb a pair of wooden stairs to get to her front door. I ring her doorbell and listen to the long melody as it plays out in the house. I adjust the bangs hanging in front of my eyes so I can see Jenn clearly. I always get nervous waiting for the door to open. I really hope Jenn answers instead of Mr. Johnson, her father. Even though I’ve known him since I was five, he’s always been very intimidating with the glare that he gives, making you feel like you’ve done something wrong.

  I notice someone begins to approach the door as the outline of a body appears in the frosted window. The door swings open and there stands Jenn, beautiful as ever. Her golden hair has the perfect curls that fall beside her cheeks and down over her shoulders. Her eyes are bright blue, and her skin is tanned, probably from going to the tanning salon every week. Jenn’s make-up is done like a professional; she could honestly be a model if she wants to be. She’s wearing a low-cut purple tank top and short jean skirt. It’s rather hard not to stare.

  “Hey Zac, are you ready to head down to the river?” Jenn asks while slipping back inside to grab her pair of white flip flops and her beach bag.

  “Yeah, I can’t wait. I forgot my towel though; do you have one I can borrow?” I was in such a hurry that I forgot to bring it. Whenever I’m around Jenn, my mind gets cloudy and I tend to forget things.

  “Of course; it’s already packed,” she says, laughing while showing me the extra towel in her beach bag along with some sunscreen. I’m not sure if it’s the sun or if I’m blushing out of embarrassment. I head back toward my bike as she shuts the door.

  “Thanks. You know me too well. Do you want to walk there or ride bikes?” I ask, curiously, because I know she’s in a skirt.

  “Let’s walk today. It’s such a nice day. Do you want to kayak out to Misty Fjords Waterfall?” Jenn asks while swinging her bag in her hands. I turn back and hold my hand out, offering to carry the beach bag with the towels so she doesn’t have to. I’ve had a crush on Jenn for years, since back when we were both young, although I’ve known her so long I’m afraid if I ever asked her out she’d reject me. It would ruin our friendship completely and we could never go back to what we have. I’m not her type anyhow. She likes the guys who look like professional athletes, handsome with lots of muscles and charisma to match.

  “That sounds great. Hopefully it’s not too crowded with tourists,” I respond.

  It’s getting to be that time of year again when Ketchikan gets flooded with tourists. We get about one to two cruise ships full of people a day visiting, and at times it can be hectic. After a while you learn all the back streets, stores, diners, and fishing holes that the locals use, cleverly avoiding most of the crowds.

  We leave her house and walk for a while together, not talking much. Once we get to the park we’re both surprised to see nobody in line to rent any of the boating equipment. Jenn and I decide not to test our luck and we both jog over to the counter. We finish up and rent two yellow kayaks for the day, one for each of us. Down on the ramp I hold Jenn’s kayak for her while she gets in so it doesn’t flip over on her. After I help her get situated, I put her bag in the front of my kayak near my feet and push her off. I get in mine and push off as well and we start to head toward Misty Fjords waterfall. It’s about a 20-minute paddle down the river.

  “I still can’t believe that it’s summer break already; this year has just flown by! Just think: next year we’ll be sophomores!” Jenn shouts as she paddles a bit further away from me. I can’t help but notice her arms have a slight muscular tone to them from her working out.

  “I know; I hope our summer goes by slow. I don’t want to rush it. I really hope that we have a lot more nice summer days like today. This weather can’t get any better!” I shout back.

  I’m not the biggest fan of school. I’d rather be kayaking, hiking, fishing, hunting, or anything outside, really. I spend a lot of my free time with my grandpa. He has been teaching me a lot of wilderness and woodworking techniques, which I find interesting.

  I graze my hand over the surface of the water as I take a break from paddling. It’s refreshingly cool to the touch and creates outgoing ripples from where my fingers touch the water. I lean back slightly and look up at the clear blue sky, nearly free of clouds. Unfortunately, as we approach the waterfall, I begin to hear chatter and, as I feared, I notice that it’s pretty busy. At the bottom of the 50 foot tall cascading waterfall is a low-lying mist haze surrounding the area. It’s a beautiful view to take in.

  There are tourists on the outskirts of the shore near the waterfall; the water is probably too cold for them to go swimming. They’re taking pictures and some of them are being obnoxiously loud. The charter tours are usually brought there by float-planes and some by small tourist boats, as it’s hard to get here any other way. One of them, a small charter boat with a few tourists on board, is pulled up near the waterfall. I do notice some locals I recognize in the water swimming around the waterfall. Even on a hot day like this, the water is still very chilly due to our climate, but it doesn’t bother us as much since we’re used to it. There have been many times I’ve ice skated around here when parts of the river had frozen over.

  “Do you want to go swimming or just relax on the kayaks, Zac?” Jenn asks while taking her tank top off. I watch her pull her shirt up over her head and her bathing suit sh
ifts slightly. I try not to stare, but it’s hard not to. “Zac, did you hear me?” She asks a little louder this time.

  I quickly catch my composure and pass it off like I’m looking at the tourists. “Let’s go in the water and swim. It’s so warm out today it would be a shame if we didn’t.”

  I pull my paddle up and put it inside the kayak while I pull my T-shirt off and stick it in the bag near my feet, trying not to get too much water inside the kayak. I’m a little embarrassed by my shirt being off, due to my super white skin. I’m nowhere close to being as tan as Jenn but I never go to the tanning beds like she does. I think I look like a ghost or a vampire, but luckily I’m feeling a little buff from working outside with my grandpa so that makes up for it a little.

  “Hey Jenn, can I use some of your sunscreen so I don’t turn into a lobster?” I pull out the sunscreen and hold it up, waiting for her response as she finally adjusts her bathing suit top so it fits correctly.

  “Only if you can put some on my back for me; I don’t want to burn either,” she says with a friendly smile while paddling closer to my kayak. She points to a remote spot a bit away from the waterfall and we paddle over to it. We pull the kayaks up on shore so they don’t float away on us or get stolen by any of the tourists.

  “Here, let me put some sunscreen on your back first,” Jenn says as she walks over to me. She takes the bottle from me and I get a little excited and nervous at the same time. She has never offered to put sunscreen on me before.

  I lean over and she pours some lotion in her hands and rubs them together. The initial touch is cool enough to make me jump a little but it quickly warms up on my skin. She continues to squeeze a little sunscreen lotion here and there all over my back. I notice how smooth her hands feel as she is rubbing it into my skin. She starts at my neck, going down to my shoulders, my lower back, and then to my sides, making me jump again. It feels so good and soothing having her rub her hands on me, I’m trying to control myself to keep from falling over.

  As soon as I think she’s done, she puts more on her hands. She still needs to cover herself as well and I start to stretch a bit. She suddenly spins me around saying, “Hey! I’m not done yet. I don’t want your chest to burn, too.”

  I’m flabbergasted, as I was planning on doing that myself when she was done. I don’t know how to respond or react and end up just standing there staring dumbfounded at her. Does she like me more than a friend? Does she want me to make a move? My mind is racing, and I don’t have any answers.

  “Ready? This will be cold,” Jenn grins while putting her hands on my chest. Now I’m having a hard time controlling myself, jumping slightly from the chill. I really want to pull her close and kiss her all of a sudden. She’s rubbing my chest slower, trailing her fingers over my belly, down to the trail of hair under my belly button. I can’t focus and a split second later she finishes and says, “Okay, you’re done; now it’s my turn.” She hands the lotion to me and then pulls her skirt off and throws it in her kayak.

  My heart is beating in loud single beats as I come back to reality. I’ve never put sunscreen on a girl in my life, let alone touch a girl like her in my life. We’ve been friends a long time and this has never happened. I’ve never really dated because I guess my heart has always belonged to Jenn. She’s one of my best friends.

  “Okay, are you ready? It’s very cold at first,” I say after finally catching my composure, then I start rubbing the lotion together in my hands. Jenn puts her hair up in a ponytail and holds it to the side. I start at her neck and slowly rub the lotion in. I trail my hands to her shoulders and down her back. Ignoring the situation as a whole so I don’t mess up, I focus on her tattoo on her lower back. It’s a beautiful black tribal tattoo of a butterfly that goes all the way across her lower back. My grandpa would never let me do anything like that but she can talk her parents into pretty much anything that she wants. I start to close the bottle to put it away. “Your back is done,” I tell her.

  “Wait, I need you to put lotion on my legs and chest. It’s only fair after I put it on you,” Jenn says frankly. Again my head is spinning; what is she thinking? Do I make a move, or do I wait for her to? I put more lotion on my hands and bend down to put lotion on the back of her legs. I cannot stop staring at her legs. They’re so smooth and soft yet defined at the same time. I rub the sunscreen all over her legs, making sure I don’t miss any spots.

  “It’s time for you to turn around now. Your back and legs are done.” I wait for her to turn around while I try to calm down. As she turns around, I take a deep breath and ask her, “Ready?”

  Jenn nods her head up and down saying yes. I start rubbing the lotion on her neck and down to her shoulders, trying to maintain eye contact with Jenn’s bright blue eyes. They’re mesmerizing. I put some more sunscreen on my hands for her chest next. I slowly start to rub my hands on her chest down to her breasts, her cleavage exposed. As I brush against them I can feel how soft her breasts are. I try not to let it show how much I’m enjoying covering her and move down to her belly, finally finishing after a minute or so.

  “Thank you, Zac; hopefully I won’t burn at all now. How do I look?” She has a wide grin on her face while she spins around in a circle, holding her arms out. She’s really athletic and it shows. She looks like an angel to me, but I can’t tell her that. She stops and smiles at me.

  “You look great. I really like your red bathing suit. It fits you really well. Ready to go swim?” I quickly manage to get out as I put the sunscreen bottle back in the bag, turning around to hide my red, blushing face.

  “I’ve been ready! Last one to the waterfall has to buy the winner an ice cream cone,” Jenn shouts while already starting to slowly run to the water.

  “Hey, no fair, you’re cheating,” I reply while trying to catch up to her. I already know she’s going to win because she’s a great swimmer. She swims as naturally and fast as a fish, so I already start to think about what flavor she’ll want me to buy for her. I’m able to barely keep up with her but I can’t pass her and she wins by a yard or two.

  We both get out and crouch right in front of the waterfall, shivering a little due to the cool mist and the water.

  “I won. You owe me an ice cream cone,” Jenn says playfully while sticking her tongue out at me. “What are your plans for your birthday? Isn’t it this week?”

  To be honest, I had somewhat forgotten it was my birthday this week. I’ve been so busy studying for finals, the only thing I’ve been looking forward to was summer break. “I haven’t made any plans, so probably nothing special.”

  “Really? We’re doing something for your birthday! You’re turning 15 this year and it’s a reason to throw a party,” Jenn says, as she splashes me with water from the waterfall. I turn my head quickly to avoid it but still manage to get some in my eyes.

  “I can see if my grandpa will let us have a small party at our house this Friday,” I tell her while rubbing my eyes.

  “Okay, that sounds good.” She smiles at me again. She stands up and we both stand under the waterfall for a bit. Getting a little cold we decide to swim back toward the shore and make our way back home.

  “Let’s head back so you can get me an ice cream.” Jenn winks at me and then she gets back into her kayak, and I follow behind her. Neither one of us says much while we quickly paddle back downstream to the park, letting the current do most of the work for us.

  We return our kayaks and get dressed, then start walking toward the ice cream shop on our way back to Jenn’s house. It’s a little ice cream shop that is owned by an elderly lady named Rose, who has been there for years.

  “So, what kind of ice cream would you like?” I ask her as she’s walking up and down looking at the selection of flavors. Rose keeps a good selection in her shop; at least 20 different flavors. It’s tucked out of the way so most of the tourists don’t even know it’s there.

  “I want a scoop of rocky road please,” Jenn asks in a sweet voice, while smiling at me with her hands
behind her back. She’s rocking back and forth on her heels. Rose hands her a cone with the ice cream that she has picked. “Are you going to get one?” Jenn asks me.

  “Not today. I’m just following up on my bet that I lost. I’ll be eating dinner with my grandpa soon and I don’t want to spoil my appetite,” I respond. We wave goodbye to Rose and begin to walk back to Jenn’s house while she eats her ice cream and finishes it by the time we get to her house. She has a little bit of chocolate left on her lip, and I want to tell her but I don’t. I just wish her a good evening and give her a hug.

  “Do you want to hang out tomorrow?” I ask her while getting on my bike. She is standing in the doorway with her clothes still damp from swimming.

  “I think I’m free. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know for sure. Good night, Zac. Get home safely. Thanks again for the ice cream,” Jenn says while smiling, waving goodbye from her door. I wave back and head home.

  I know my grandpa will be home by the time I get home. He worked on the fishing boats today. It’s Monday night; he normally comes home with pizza for dinner. The toppings are always pepperoni, sausage, and anchovies. As I approach my house, I see Grandpa’s red and white 1972 Chevy Cheyenne parked in the driveway. The truck is slowly rusting away but he loves it still. I park my bike in the garage and lock the garage door on my way in.

  Elric George Belstryke is my grandpa. He has taken care of me since I was two years old. I was in a car accident with my parents one evening and a drunk driver crashed into us head on. My parents were killed instantly from the impact; I was thrown out of the car and survived with only a deep cut on my right cheek. Everyone says it’s a miracle that I survived. My grandpa was the only kin I had left, so he took me in and raised me.